Getting Crafty for the Sake of Love
by LunaBellCate
Summary: Tired of no romantic progress made in years, Kevin and Marie plot to gain the attention of their long time love interests. Their new plan is a doozy, but you have to be crafty to get what you want. Rated M to be safe. Yes, there will be some cursing, but not excessive. May include other pairings as story progresses.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: Ok ok so first things first, I began this story on a whim. I had been completely immersed in Ed Edd n Eddy fanfiction lately and an idea popped up and, well – an inspiration baby was born. So enjoy.**

**Update 12/03/2013 – So I just realized I kept spelling Double D as Double Dee. Not sure why, but I went through and fixed it~ Also, it ate my breaks in the first update, so I updated it again and just used the site's lines.  
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**_Chapter 1_**

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Kevin rode slowly down the road, grumpily mumbling to himself about his day. High school had been fine to him until now. Freshman year was a close repeat of junior high. Sophomore year was boring, most students immersed in exams or getting over some childish what-not that followed from the first year. Now juniors, the kids of the cul-de-sac were some-what maturing. And with some people, maturity meant becoming head cheerleader and flirting with the one jar head who managed to out-do Kevin on the football team by placing quarterback.

"Stupid Richie Pin Head Dork-Angelo with his oh, Nazz you're so great at marine bio and I need help blah blah..." Kevin's cruising came to a halt when he caught sight of a beautiful dark green motorcycle while passing the junkyard. Thoughts of Nazz forgotten, he whistled and wheeled up to get a closer look. Someone was crouched next to the bike with a toolbox open to the side. "Hey man, nice vintage ride. Where'd you score something like that?"

As the person stood and lifted their welding mask, Kevin nearly fell where he stood. Marie Kanker of all people was staring him back, slightly confused and clearly irritated at the interruption.

The Kankers had in fact, eased up on their behavior come high school. They still clearly favored the Eds, but refined their techniques to less beastly, but just as conniving tactics. Kevin's hand instantly shot up to rub the back of his neck due to the awkward situation he had stumbled unto. He personally no longer shared bad blood with the blue haired Kanker, but it's not like they were friends. Partnered a couple of times in classes, they were civil at best, and stayed distant from each other outside of classes. But he was there, she was there, and there was no way he was running away like some... Dork. Marie looked Kevin over while crossing her arms.

"If you must know, it apparently belonged to my old man," Marie tossed her mask on the ground and glared at the motorcycle as if it had insulted her. "Trying to fix the damn thing up so I wouldn't have to walk to school everyday."

Kevin relaxed, now assured Marie wasn't angered by his presence. An angry Kanker still led to bad outcomes, no matter how much they'd mellowed out. He watched her as she kicked the toolbox shut to make a seat for herself and looked back up at him.

"So, you got your answer. Anything else ya' need?" The boy shrugged and stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"Don't feel like goin' home yet, so I'm stallin'. You don't have an appointment to bother some scrawny brainiac today?" Kevin smirked, trying to smooth out the tension still in the air. To his surprise, Marie just shook her head and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. "Hey, what the-"

"You give me a lecture, the second this is lit, it's going in your eye." Kevin immediately shut his mouth and cleared his throat.

"So uh... I'm not gonna get attacked by your sisters if I stick around for a bit, am I?" Another shake of her head eased his nerves.

"Shouldn't you be sucking face with the cheerleader?"

At the mention of Nazz, Kevin frowned. Yeah, it's not like he had a claim on the blonde. Until now, he had been close to but never actually asked out his childhood crush. She could flirt with whoever she wanted to, and anyone could flirt with her. At one point, he thought she reciprocated his feelings, but now he wasn't sure, and wasn't going to make a fool out of himself by bluntly asking. There were problems to liking someone who was friendly to the entire world, like figuring out who exactly was special. Kevin for the life of him couldn't read girls.

"Nah, she's probably got that covered with block head." Marie raised an eyebrow while puffing her cigarette. Trouble in paradise? She was sure they were an item by now, and she voiced that thought. "Haven't asked her yet. Not sure if I should, ya' know? Not like I'm gonna hound her like you sisters do the Eds." Kevin shrugged, trying to seem casual. Unfortunately for him, Marie was quick to pick up that wasn't the case.

Sighing and stomping out her cigarette butt, she let silence come in between her and the jock. His last statement rung in her head. She, unlike her sisters, had backed off from her love interest as of late for several reasons. One was the bike that needed to be fixed. Two was the part time job she had found as a waitress, which was thanks to her mother, so she sure as hell couldn't slip up. And three, was... Well, boredom. Years of chasing after one guy took it out of a girl, even if she enjoyed watching him twitch with nervousness whenever she invaded his personal space. Seeing the boy in front of her trying to tone down his jealousy made her scowl. _'Why can't Edd want me that bad?' _And suddenly an idea hit her. A sweet, devilish idea.

"So... You really want to snag that girl, huh?" Kevin's face went red and he immediately spun his head to the side, about to utter a denial when Marie continued. "I know a way you can."

The boy's interest peaked, he turned back to face the blue haired Kanker sister. She leaned forward slightly and began discussing her twisted plot to him. From a distance, Kevin can be seen waving his arms and pacing. Marie can be seen laughing and gesturing to nothing and no one in particular. And they stayed there until the sun began to set, ironing out the details of their plan.

* * *

The next day was a Wednesday like any other. Eddward Serevino stood at his locker, arranging his books and talking away about the previous night's assignment with his two best friends. Ed was sitting on the ground immersed in a new issue of his (current) favorite comic book and Eddy was leaning against his closed locker half asleep. Not much had changed in the trio personality-wise, but that was expected.

Peach Creek was a normal sort of town. Stable, slow to change, and many things remained the same. Double D enjoyed the order in his life, and as disorderly as it tended to be amongst his peers, things were predictable. Nazz was chatting with Kevin by the water fountain, Rolf and Jonny were caught up in a conversation next to homeroom, and Sarah had walked by with Jimmy to the lower-classmen section of the building a few minutes before. Suddenly coming to a realization, Double D squinted his eyes in the direction of Nazz. The football jacket wearing jock he noted next to her was not Kevin, but a taller fellow Edd was not familiar with. So where was Kevin? A yelp from behind him interrupted his thoughts and Edd turned around to find his friends backed up against the lockers, distancing themselves as far away from the Kanker sisters as possible.

"Hey there, squirt. Feel like spending time with me this morning?" Lee snickered, supporting half her weight on her hand next to Eddy's head. They were actually of equal height now, though her curly hair and heels led to the illusion she still towered over him. Lee had abandoned her old clothes and replaced them with dark blue skinny jeans and a white v-neck short sleeve shirt. Eddy scowled, opening his mouth to retort when Ed started freaking out next to him.

"SHE'S TOUCHING ME EDDY!" Ed clutched onto his friend for dear life, practically climbing on Eddy's shoulder. May was simply running her fingers up the tallest Ed's arm making it look like a walking man. She giggled, making her pigtails bounce to further express her giddiness. Unlike Lee, she still wore relaxed clothes on a regular basis, but since joining the soccer team, May normally showed up to homeroom in her Peach Creek Cobblers uniform and cleats.

"MAY! You're ruining our moment!" Lee grabbed one of her baby sister's pigtails and turned to Edd, who, until now was caught in between helping his friends or fleeing before "his" Kanker popped up. "Hey, you seen Marie? She left before we got up. Figured she got a head start on you today." Double D straightened up, confusion evident in his face.

"I'm a-afraid not, Lee. Actually, now thinking of it, s-she hadn't stopped by to ah- greet me in a few days..." Edd trailed off, mentally checking he had chosen his words correctly, but starting to pick up on small changes to his daily life. He'd been enjoying the peace of not having Marie around every corner, but hearing that his sisters weren't aware of her whereabouts warranted a ponder.

And just as the sisters were about to turn their attention back on their respective men, the front doors to the school opened, catching the attentions of those nearby. And in two seconds, the hallway froze in silence in an almost comical manner. Walking in were Marie and Kevin, laughing over something with eyes only to each other. He poked her in the ribs and she playfully shoved his shoulder. Intimate gestures no one ever thought could happen between the two. And as it played out before them, no one else moved an inch for what seemed like an eternity.

Which, in reality, was three seconds before-

"KEVIN, I'LL SAVE YOU!" Ed had snapped out of the stupor first and now stood behind Double D with a kicking and cursing Kevin over his shoulder. Edd spun around trying to calm down his overreacting friend when a tight grip decorated with green nail polish pushed him aside. The fact that it was Marie who touched him wasn't new. Her nail polish wasn't new. The brash act wasn't new. But the fact that she had grabbed him just to move him out of her way left Edd at a loss for words.

"Let. Him. Go!" Growled Marie to a terrified Ed. When met with resistance, she turned around while pointing a finger back at the tall boy. "May, get _your man_ to let go of _my boyfriend_ before I make him!"

"WHAT?!"

Ed, startled by the outbursts in the hallway, dropped Kevin on the floor and reclaimed his position behind Edd, whose jaw had dropped at Marie's last statement. Eddy's bottom lip had merely gone limp along with his arms. Lee and May were dumbstruck, the former brushing half of her bangs out of her eyes just so she could be sure what she was seeing wasn't some hallucination. Their sister was helping the now bruised Kevin off the floor, making sure he was okay and straightening his hat before walking away together, the first bell of the day going off above them. Nazz stood still, watching the two make their way past her without a single glance in her direction, paying attention to the arm Kevin had draped over Marie's shoulder. The jock next to her, Richie, was having a laughing fit from the scene that unfolded, but she wasn't paying attention to the comments he was making. Rolf and Jonny's heads followed the couple's movement, turning a full 180 degrees as the two turned into their homeroom.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" Eddy blurted out, and abruptly slid down to the floor.

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**Author's Note: Leave comments if you'd like. Criticism is nice, but don't be rude. I know it's a little cliche and all that, but what isn't these days? Yes, this is still an Edd/Marie fanfic – or is it? Lol kidding. I'll tackle a Marie/Kevin one some other day.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: Oh my, someone followed my story! I share my happiness with you by writing another chapter.**

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_**Chapter 2**_

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One by one, the students left in the hallway made haste to their respective homerooms, not once breaking the silence after Marie and Kevin's performance. Most of them started their day with the two, and wanted to make sure what they just saw was real. The other two Kanker sisters walked off in the opposite direction, not matching schedules with their sibling.

As Ed assisted Eddy by dragging him from the spot he had frozen upon, Edd followed suit, wracking his brain for all explanations of their morning. Could he have eaten something hallucinogenic the night before? Maybe this was all some strange dream. Yes! Had to be. The milk in the refrigerator must've been open a day too long. Or perhaps this was the result of his irregular sleeping patterns lately. Yes, that was all. Marie wasn't sitting next to Kevin in the back of class giving him the same googly eyes she used to save for the hat donning Edd. No, no, not at all. That would never happen. Even if it were to happen, he wouldn't care... No, he'd be absolutely ecstatic that she was off his back. Kevin, too. He was a good guy. He deserved to find love, as well.

But as Edd continued his mental debate, he was becoming more and more confused. When had this happened? Was Kevin the reason he'd been spared of Kanker assaults lately? He _had_ been seen around Nazz less during breaks. Now that Double D took a minute to arrange his thoughts, the football jacket wearing figure next to Nazz the past couple of weeks hadn't been Kevin, after all. Being completely honest with himself, it seemed he had overlooked a few changes to Peach Creek High in the assumption things were to always remain normal amongst them. That's just inexcusable!

Shaking his head, he glanced back to the couple in the back of the room. Marie was twirling her hair, which she had let grow since freshman year, it now reaching the small of her back. Bangs still hovered over her right eye, but her left revealed she still applied blue eyeshadow, now joined with black eyeliner and deep pink lip-gloss. Her clothes hadn't changed dramatically. She still wore her black boots and baggy pants, now a dark green, but her tank top had been replaced with a black long sleeved shirt that hung off one shoulder. _'I suppose most __**would**__ consider her a sight for sore eyes.'_ Inwardly groaning, Edd tried his best to shift his attention away from the two. He should be helping Ed revive a still semi-frozen Eddy.

"Double D! Eddy's soul has yet to return!" Sighing at his friend's dramatics, he stood from his seat to help only to watch Ed withdraw his hand and strike Eddy across the face. With said victim of Ed's inhuman strength sputtering on the floor trying to get back to the moment, the classroom erupted in laughter.

"Hey Lumpy, what was _that _for?!"

"Eddy has returned!"

"Good lord, Ed, was that really necessary?"

"Ed is victorious!"

"Why I outta-"

Just then, the classroom door opened, announcing the arrival of their homeroom teacher. The students settled back in their seats and quieted down, tension thick in the air. In the back of the room, Kevin was bent over a piece of paper, scribbling down a few words before folding it into a paper football and flicking it to the desk next to him. Marie quirked an eyebrow and unfolded the projectile. She wrote down her response, passed it back, and so it continued.

_Think it's working?_

_Yeah, you see the cheerleader's face?_

_Nah too busy tryin' not to laugh at Double Dork._

_Omg how'd he look?_

Kevin stifled a laugh and drew an exaggerated doodle of Edd's face. He made sure to bug out the eyes and drag the line of Edd's jaw close to the ground. Folding the paper and passing it back to Marie, it didn't take long for her to burst out in teary laughter, catching the attention of everyone in class. Luckily for her, homeroom was just ending, so the teacher let it slide. Knowing all eyes were on them, Marie wiped the mirth from the corner of her eyes and transferred herself onto Kevin's desk, blocking his shocked face from view.

"I didn't know I was dating an artist," giggled Marie. Leaning down close to his face to create a suggestive illusion for anyone behind her, she lowered her voice. "You have to start acting the part better, _boyfriend._"

"Well _excuse me. _What else am I supposed to do?" Kevin rolled his eyes and tugged a bit at his pretend girlfriend's hair to distract himself from her close proximity to his face. Nazz may be the one he's aiming for, but he was a teenage boy and whatever Marie was wearing smelled damn good. Marie frowned, took her thumb across her bottom lip, and smudged a bit of her lip-gloss across Kevin's.

"Bring your lunch to the library," hopping off the desk, Marie put on a show by blowing him a kiss and strut past the students who had purposely made their way to the door as slow as they could. Kevin replaced his dumbfounded expression with a smirk and finally stood from his seat just to be met by Eddy.

"What the hell is going on, man?!"

"There a problem, dweeb?"

Kevin and Eddy had come to a truce a long time ago, and while they fought on occasion, they considered each other friends. So as generally absurd as their whole morning had gone, the main thing bugging the shorter of the Eds was that he heard nothing of the affair, and he said so.

"So I have a private life. Big deal," Kevin flung his bag of his shoulder and shoved past the Eds.

"We're not done here, shovel chin!"

"I got class, ya' dork. Bother me later."

"Class my a-"

"Eddy please, we have class, as well. I'm sure your inquiries of Kevin's new relationship can wait until lunch," Edd ushered his steaming friend out the door and into the hallway.

* * *

Come lunch, Eddy had calmed down considerably, now sitting down at a table waiting for Kevin to come in. Ed was happily scooping mashed potatoes into his mouth, and Double D was still on line. Finally, Kevin walked in with Rolf and took their places to buy their lunch.

"Come now, my good friend. You must not keep Rolf in the dark. Tell of how you came to be the mate of the second born Kanker sister. Rolf believed you to be after the go-go Nazz girl!" Kevin sighed, exhausted from having to answer questions the entire morning. It was even more exhausting with the taste of Marie's lip-gloss still on his lips. Did they start making waterproof make up or something? Kevin searched his head for any mention of it all the times Nazz went off about her girly obsessions.

"I told ya' it just happened. We've been hangin' out here and there, so why not." Kevin pushed his tray down the counter, loading it up quickly so he could make his excuse to leave. If only Double D wasn't taking his time deciding which vegetable to have that day, he would've been gone already.

"You cannot fool the son of a shepherd, casanova Kevin-boy. Even you are weak to the call of love so why abandon your pursuit of the blonde haired-"

"Gee Rolf, look at the time. I promised Marie I'd meet her, so..."

"Ah, it is time for you to make kissy faces to the blue haired Kanker, yes? Rolf shall not keep you, but as my Nana says, you must wait until the fruit is ripe..." Kevin made his exit there to save himself of what seemed to be a long winded speech from his friend about something that would no doubt embarrass them both. In fact, he was so consumed in his escape that he didn't notice the feminine voice calling his name as he passed through the cafeteria doors.

"That jug head! He just left without saying a single word to us!" Eddy fumed in his seat, not pleased that he had to continue waiting for answers.

"Actually, he mentioned to Rolf that he had a meeting with Marie this period," Edd informed, arriving at their table. Eddy threw his hands up in disbelief and readied himself to go off on another rant when Double D stopped him. "I'm afraid you must spare me the profanities, Eddy. I have duties to attend to at the library today." And with that, Edd straightened out his tie and marched out, lunch in hand.

* * *

In the library, Kevin and Marie were sitting on a small couch in a corner away from sight. To any passerby, they must've looked strange, staring at each other as intently as they did. Kevin's lunch was sitting half eaten on the floor and Marie's book bag was laying open behind her.

"This is stupid," Kevin mumbled, annoyed with their little exercise.

"You have to get used to looking at me. Now, give me your cutest face. I don't know about blondie, but my love muffin is a smart cookie. We need to make this look legit," Marie paused to throw her legs over Kevin's knees and drew him closer. He gulped, but forced himself to look at her. She smiled sweetly and batted her eyelashes. Earlier, she had tied her hair back for the purpose of the exercise.

"You look really weird all girly, you know that?" Marie frowned and shoved him.

"And you're just a big fat scaredy cat. How are we supposed to look like a couple and get them jealous with you too wimpy to act the part?"

"Did you just call me a wimp?"

"Yeah, so?" Marie leaned close to Kevin's face again and smacked her lips together before slowly drawing out the word, "Wiimmmp."

In the fantasy/fiction section, Edd was happily arranging books. The smell and feel of books was just enough to distract himself from the events earlier in the day. But just as he was switching two wrongly placed books, a couple of loud thumps and distant voices interrupted him. Mentally preparing himself to chastise whoever was making noise, Edd made his way to the corner of the library behind the dusty non-fiction section. And as Double D was making a note to bring his feather duster the next day, he came across the partners in crime in an odd position.

Double D blushed furiously looking upon the two on the floor. Kevin was straddling Marie, her arms pinned above her head, the latter's chest noticeably heaving under him. Her hair was splayed out, the blue complimenting the exhausted pink in her cheeks. It was only mildly provocative, but to the shy Edd, it was _highly _inappropriate. Even more so since he could very clearly see Marie's belly ring thanks to her disheveled shirt. Violently shaking his head, Edd cleared his throat. Kevin froze briefly and turned his upper body around, releasing Marie's arms so she could prop herself up.

"Double D... What's up?" Kevin picked up his discarded hat and stood, helping Marie up with his other hand.

"I apologize for erm- interrupting, Kevin, but you really shouldn't be disrupting the p-peace in the library," Edd straightened his tie to busy his hands. He didn't like angering Kevin. And he didn't like angering Marie. It was just his luck he might end up pissing both of them off. Edd mentally calculated an escape route as he waited for a response. The two looked at Edd, then each other, and burst out laughing.

"Sorry man, we'll be good," Kevin flung his arm around Marie's shoulders and drew her in. She in turn wrapped hers around his waist and rested her head on his chest.

"Right – well, I'll take my leave, then."

After Edd left the couple alone, the two withdrew from each other and plopped down on the couch. Kevin readjusted his hat and waited for Marie to finish fixing herself before speaking.

"How long you had that belly ring?"

"Not long," she felt her cheeks heat up a bit. It's not like she flaunted her belly around. In fact, Kevin was the first one to see it when he tried to tickle her and the shirt hiked up just moments ago. "You know, maybe we should just take the rest of the time to get to know each other. It'd be kinda suspicious if I didn't know squat about my boyfriend." Kevin nodded.

"Yeah, sounds good. But hey, did Double D look jealous to you?" Marie rested her head back on the arm of the couch and kicked her feet up on Kevin's lap again, smiling.

"He looked extra uneasy when we put our arms around each other. I'd say we need to pick up our game just a bit."

"Cool. Oh hey, you gotta show up at the field after school to admire your football star," Kevin laughed, now comfortable enough to joke with the Kanker girl. She huffed in irritation with a slight pout.

Back with Double D, he was sitting on an empty space of the book cart, lazily going through the motions required to finish his job. He felt confused, and slightly ill. Marie barely looked at him. _Him_. Just days ago she was cornering him in the hallways to kiss him on the cheek or take a bite from his apple he was already eating. She had chased him for _years _and now suddenly she was wrapped around Kevin? It was a bizarre, to say the least. His day had been too quiet without her around every corner. The last few days were enjoyable without her harassment, so why was today any different? An image of her pink tinted face came to mind. He shook his head. Remembering her belly ring, Edd let out a strangled gasp and pulled his hat over his head in an attempt to keep himself from picturing it. And as he was hyperventilating, Edd saw her heavy chest and he collapsed on the floor with a light thump.

Sighing to himself before lifting his hat from his face, Edd relaxed his body as best as he could. Of all people, _Marie Kanker _was plaguing his thoughts. There must be some sort of sickness in the air, he concluded. Some sort of head cold, yes. What else could it possibly be?

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**Author's Note: And there's the second chapter. I'm really **_**really **_**itching to get some Marie/Edd action in there, but it'll be a bit. Not too long, mind you. Would hate to bore you guys off. But anyway, let me know what you think! You have the option to review for a reason! Like you know, if you liked it, didn't like it, had some suggestions, etcetera.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: Oh yay, reviews :D. Just letting you guys know, I'm a single mother trying to finish all my knitting projects by Christmas, so my updates won't be scheduled, but I'll try not to leave you hanging long. I was actually supposed to update a couple of days ago but sick baby's been going to sleep around 4am every night, so it took a bit of effort to finish writing.**

**And a special word for Jacksonwg, my daughter did indeed have a good first birthday :].**

***I haven't done this yet. Is it too late? I do not own Ed Edd n Eddy! I had you fooled, didn't I? A-ha!*  
**

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_**Chapter 3**_

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After the last bell, Lee and May Kanker stood by the exit, waiting for their sister. The only period they shared with her was lunch, and she didn't show up. They, as much as other people, needed an explanation. Sure, the sisters didn't share all their little secrets with each other, but there was no way they wouldn't know something as important as Marie obtaining an actual boyfriend. Seeing said girl approaching, the two straightened up to face her.

"Hey Marie, where were ya'?" Lee asked with a scowl on her face.

"Yeah, we always eat lunch together," frowned a confused May. Marie rolled her eyes, clearly not in the mood.

"Climbing Mount Rushmore, what's it to ya'?"

"Think I'm joking, Marie? You're my _little _sister. You tell me where you went off to and what's going on with that box head jock!"

"If you _must _know, _Lee – _I was with my box head boyfriend at lunch. And that's all I'm tellin' ya. I'm someone's girlfriend. Big whoop," Marie side stepped her sisters but only made it a few feet before they got in her way again. She sighed, adjusting her bag. She knew the sudden relationship was going to be a shock to her sisters and they were just being protective, but that didn't mean their behavior wasn't annoying. "Look, I gotta meet him. Can I tell you the details later?"

May looked up at Lee while the eldest weighed her options. They could probably get Marie to spill the beans in less than an hour, but over the years, the sisters had become closer. Not much, but it was a fragile peace they didn't enjoy often in their lives. And if it took a few hours wait to keep it, Lee decided there was no rush.

"Fine, but don't do nothing Ma regretted she'd done," turning on her heel, Lee strut off. May held a small smile for Marie and gave her a quick hug before following their red-headed sister.

* * *

At the football field, Kevin had just finished changing into his uniform and was currently surveying the stands looking for Marie. Finally finding her at a corner as far away from the cheerleaders as possible, he shook his head in amusement and started toward her. That is, until he heard his name being called. Spinning around, he found Nazz jogging up to him, her tassel decorated pigtails brushing her cheeks.

"Dude, finally! I tried getting your attention at lunch. Where's your head?" Nazz giggled, playfully hitting Kevin with her pompom.

"Uh, hey. What's up?" The jock glanced back at Marie, seeing her reading a book. Nazz followed his eyes, her cheery disposition falling briefly.

"So, you and a Kanker. Never thought I'd see the day," she said, opening conversational grounds for an explanation.

"Yeah, turns out we have a lot in common. She's a cool chick, ya' know?" Kevin paused, remembering their prepping in the library. "Even got a good jazz ear."

"Wow, sounds like you really like her," Nazz smiled sweetly, but unlike past melt-worthy moments, Kevin felt uneasy.

"Yeah so uh... She's waiting for me, so-"

"Oh hey, Richie's having a Halloween party at his house this Saturday and I was hoping you could make it?" Kevin scowled slightly and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Uh, I don't know. I have plans with Marie for Halloween," Kevin lied. He and Marie hadn't discussed having their "relationship" outside of school.

"You can bring her! You know, make a proper debut as a couple and all that. You guys can come in like, matching costumes or something. Anyway, it's in Kiwi Meadows, so you'll need some wheels," Nazz turned, having heard her name called. "I have to get back to my girls, but see you there, dude."

Kevin sighed and continued walking over to Marie, who had abandoned her book and was leaning back on her hands, legs crossed. An amused smirk adorned her face as she watched him come to her.

"So, what did doll-face have to say? Did she confess her loovvve?" Marie bit her lip at the end of her sentence, unintentionally leading Kevin to remember the taste of her lip-gloss. He groaned and slammed on his helmet before his cheeks could heat up. "Well geez, just teasin'. No need to growl at me."

"It's not that. Nazz invited me – us, to a Halloween party at Ri-tarded's place," Kevin paused. "As a _couple_." Marie stared back at him blankly, having expected a better reason. "What?"

"What? We show up, then. You afraid I'll turn into a werewolf on Halloween and kill ya' or somethin'?" Kevin shook his head. "Then what's got your jock strap in a twist?"

"I didn't think you'd want to, you know... I – uh. There's gonna be a lot of people, and thought you wouldn't - " Marie yanked him down by his jersey and pushed up his helmet, in the end having him melded with her body on the bleachers. If Kevin could get any redder in the moment, he was sure his head would explode. And he was sure if she'd actually kissed him, he might've fainted. But her thumbs were pressed firmly between his and her lips. He almost didn't register the masculine cough that erupted behind him.

"Hate to break you guys up, but we have some practice to get to, Valentino." Kevin shakily raised himself from his girlfriend and came face to face with the current bane of his existence, Richard D'Angelo. But what was on his mind wasn't how deeply he hated the guy; it was the fact he now had the structure of Marie's anatomy and face perfectly engraved in his mind. He already knew she was attractive, which was a plus in making Nazz jealous, but the _feel _of her chest against his -

"It's okay hun, we'll continue later." Marie winked at him – or blinked, now that her bangs were in their rightful place, but Kevin was pretty sure it was the former. He nodded dumbly and followed the quarterback unto the field. The girl cocked her head to the side. Kevin was walking a little funny.

Meanwhile at the other side of the bleachers, Nazz had dropped her pom-poms. She was sure she had just seen Kevin and Marie _kiss_, and it was messing up her cheerleading routine, so she told the girls to take a break. She really shouldn't be uneasy about the whole thing. It had to be some sort of epic burn the two thought up. Nazz had her blonde moments, but when it came to reading guys, she was no fool. Kevin had been hooked on her, and she returned the sentiment, but she wasn't fond of the idea of asking the guy out first. It was _supposed _to be _his _job, and until then, she was a free woman. Which made him a free man, but dammit he was supposed to come after her, not turn around and french a Kanker. She took a long sip from her water bottle.

So she was facing the facts. She might be a little jealous. Just a bit. But there was no way the two were going to last. There was no chemistry there. And Kevin liked girly girls. Of all people, _Marie Kanker_ wouldn't be able to hold his attention long. She may have filled out since junior high, but he was a typical teenage jock, with the hormones to boot. It'll become apparent to him soon enough. Right?

* * *

By the time practice was over, it was near dark. Marie tapped her foot impatiently while waiting for Kevin to change. Little Miss Sunshine had walked off with her current interest ten minutes before, which meant she didn't _have _to stick around for appearances anymore, but she and her "boyfriend" still had to discuss their Halloween plans. Finally seeing him pop his head out of the school's double doors, she stood and started walking with him back toward the cul-de-sac.

Kevin's head was currently a mess, which had resulted in him putting his shirt on backwards and inside-out a few times in the locker room. Now that he was in close proximity to the person who was responsible for said mess, Kevin's mind was in overdrive. No, calm down. Dork reflex acting up. He liked Nazz. He really _really _liked Nazz. All this pretending was turning things topsy-turvy.

"So, about the party," Marie started, interrupting Kevin's mental debate. He came back to the present, noticing that she seemed to be shivering. How had he not see she didn't bring a sweater? "I was thinking-"

"You cold?"

"Huh?" The blue haired girl turned to face Kevin, who was taking off his football jacket. "No, that's okay - hey!" Ignoring her protests, the jock draped his letterman jacket on Marie's shoulders and gave her a light push to keep her walking. She sighed, partly in defeat, but mostly in satisfaction of the warmth that was thrust upon her. She muttered a word of gratitude and continued on.

"You really think it'll be a good idea to show up at that prick's party?"

"Well, it's a great opportunity to _really_ give blondie a show, don't you think?" Marie paused to adjust the jacket properly and draw her hair out from under the collar. "Besides, wouldn't you want to keep an eye out for her? It's a big party at a presumably big house with the big bad wolf waiting to get in her pants."

Kevin noticeably tensed at the idea Marie had put forth on him. He wouldn't put it past D'Angelo to make a move on Nazz, but as preppy as she was, he was sure she could handle it. She'd given the Eds some powerful reprimands in the past, even leaving Eddy a black eye once. That didn't mean he didn't have a sense of protectiveness with her, though, and Marie was apparently going to extort it to her goal.

"Alright, so... What are we going as?" Marie merely shrugged in response. Clearly she hadn't thought that far, but they still had a couple of days to decide.

"We'll discuss that tomorrow. I gotta get back home," they came to a halt in front of Kevin's house.

"You gonna be okay heading back by yourself? I can walk you, you know. Or I can give you a ride on my bike." Kevin had started rubbing the back of his head again, looking everywhere but the petite girl in front of him. And while his eyes wandered, he caught sight of a shadow in a window across the street.

"Yeah, I'll just hop your fence into the lane. That's practically half-way there," Marie quirked her eyebrow, noticing a glint appear in the jock's eye. He leaned forward suddenly, resting his arms on her shoulders and his forehead against hers. Trying to keep her composure and praying her face wasn't redder than his, Marie went with it, playing with the hem of his shirt. "Someone watching?"

"Pretty sure double-dweeb's at his window. Kinda glad we went over ways to fool people to thinking we're kissing," Kevin paused, seeming to remember something. "You never mentioned that whole thing at the bleachers, though." Marie smirked.

"I thought of the trick in drama class. Must've looked like I was smooching your brains out." Running her hands up his chest and down his arms to lower them, Marie stopped to entwine her fingers with his, ignoring how disgustingly _good _it felt. Damn, she needed some real loving in her life. And for that, she wanted a certain romantically-inept brainiac to wake up and sweep her off her feet. "Want to invite me in and I'll sneak out the back?" Catching on to her charade, Kevin snickered and cocked his head toward his house in invitation.

* * *

Up in his room, Double D was glued to the window, eyes trained on the couple entering the Valentino household. Waiting a minute after the door closed, he dramatically fell to the floor, clutching his hat while rolling away from the window. She entered his house! And on a _school _night! What has this world come to?! He released his face from the confines of his hat to stare helplessly at his cactus.

"Jim, what on earth is going on with the balance of our neighborhood?!" Edd ran through explanations in his head once more. Suddenly gasping, he jumped up off the floor and rifled through his drawers for a face mask. "An airborne virus, that's it! Jim, why didn't I see it before?"

* * *

Meanwhile, back across the street, Marie was currently being introduced to Kevin's father, Mitchell Valentino. He was a relatively tall man with shoulders that may have been very broad in his youth, but through the years sagged a bit, earning him a stocky frame. His red hair was cut short, in a neat style that reminded Marie of her late grandfather, a veteran of the Marines. He was smiling broadly at her, taking in that a girl was wearing his son's letterman, and she wasn't Nazz.

"Pleasure to meet you, Marie," as Mr. Valentino shook her hand, he mentally noted the firm handshake. "Now don't be formal with me. You can call me Mitch. But I don't recall my son ever mentioning you." He stood straighter, acknowledging Kevin.

"Dad, you don't need to know every detail of my life," Kevin frowned, massaging the back of his neck. Marie suppressed a giggle at his habit and noticing his ears running pink. "She's just gonna use the back. It's sort of a short cut to her place." Mitch raised an eyebrow, which Kevin recognized as his 'explain' expression, but quickly came to a conclusion on his own.

"You're Anna's daughter, aren't you?" Marie nodded, suddenly uneasy. Though why his opinion of her mattered to her or why he was casually nicknaming her mother, she didn't question. "Now I see, you live through the lane. Son, why aren't you walkin' her home? Strange things go on in that alley."

"Really sir, it's okay. I just gotta go soon, so..." Mitch glanced at Kevin again with a disapproving look and sighed.

"Independent, just like your mother," he offered a small smile and stepped aside so the two can make their way to the back door.

Out of earshot from his father, Kevin finally relaxed his shoulders with a large exhale of breath. "Sorry, he's usually so consumed in his game, he doesn't bother." Marie lazilly raised her shoulders in a bit of a shrug and tugged his jacket closer to her as they stepped out into the back yard.

"No biggie. Just kinda weird since it sounds like he knows my mom." They stopped at his back fence and faced each other.

"Yeah, I don't know. Never heard him talking about her before. You're not like, my half sister are you?" Marie laughed and punched his shoulder. A couple of awkward seconds rolled by before she spoke again. "So, you want your jacket back?"

"Nah, keep it for the way home. Just don't forget it tomorrow," Kevin paused, rubbing his shoulder where she'd hit him. "So uh, do I kiss you good night or somethin'?" They shared a laugh at his joke before Marie grasped the fence to hop on. She hesitated at the top, and looked back down at him.

"Night, Valentino."

"Yeah uh, night dude," the jock bit his lip briefly. "Uhm, I mean - good night, Marie." She smiled in approval before disappearing from his sight.

* * *

At that moment, Edd was going through his medicine cabinet for anything to fight against what was apparently the cause of Peach Creek High's strange developments. He had gathered three containers of pills before his rational finally caught up. Sighing, he threw his back against the closed door and slid down, the pills rolling unto the tiled floor. He needed to regroup.

So Kevin was dating Marie Kanker, Ed's once stalker. He ran through his encounters with them and slid further down until his chin rest on his chest. There really wasn't any denying the end anymore. Somewhere in the years, he had developed somewhat non-hateful feelings toward the girl. Not that he hated her in the first place, but through her constant harrassment, he thought it best fit his sanity and personal hygiene to avoid contact, however futile it always was. So what was it; did he love her? No, that was rather extreme. He thought she was pretty, that was it. And a good cook, if he remembered correctly. Though he questioned the culinary significance of Kanker burgers. And he heard rumor that she was talented on stage, but he never attended any of the drama class's performances – a majority of the school didn't, actually.

That was it. Edd blinked, feeling enlightened. At most all he felt was a little high school crush, right? _'Indeed. My teenage hormones are running rampant, ready to latch on to any female passerby in my age group.' _He ignored the fact that his main focus was Marie, that his flame for Nazz had died somewhere mid-freshman year when she recited a less than impressive poem in their shared English class with the prominent word being "dude". Nevertheless, he stood with renewed energy, convinced that it was a fleeting emotion and nothing more. _'I shall attend my classes as per norm and that'll be that.'_

As Edd settled into his bed that night, he was aware of doubts to his conclusion, but only tucked himself lower into his sheets, not wishing to pay them any mind. And he stayed there until sleep took him, barely successful at resisting the urge to watch the house across from his.

* * *

**Author's Note: So there you go, I hope you all are satisfied. If not or if so, leave a review, I'd love to hear your thoughts. I'm glad it's been positive so far, though lol. If I don't see you guys in a couple of days (though hopefully I will), have a Merry Christmas!**


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